DJ BBQ's black bean chilli quesadillas recipe
I lived in Vail, Colorado, back in the 1990s. We produced snowboarding films out of an old American school bus. There wasn’t much money to be made funding your own films with a bit of sponsorship, so I had to supplement my income with shifts at a 24-hour restaurant called DJ’s Diner. There was free food for staff. It was the best place to eat. We were known for our omelettes, chilli and quesadillas. We had five different chillies cooking at all times and one of my favourite things to eat was the Black Bean Chilli Pancake – a quesadilla served with pineapple salsa.
This is my riff on that perfect recipe. It's a great dish for veggies, but it’s also tasty with added chorizo. The key to this recipe is going low and slow. American rap group The Beastie Boys knew what they were talking about when they said: "Let it flow, let yourself go, slow and low, that is the tempo".
Ingredients
- 100 ml vegetable oil
- 6 to 8 garlic cloves, sliced
- 6 mild red chillies, deseeded and sliced
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 2 to 3 red (bell) peppers, chopped
- 800 g black beans
- 100 g brown lentils
- 6 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 tsp ground coriander (cilantro)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh, hard/woody herbs (e.g. thyme, rosemary or sage)
- 1 l vegetable stock
- 50 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 50 g butter, cubed
- 8 large flour tortillas
- 1 big block of mature Cheddar cheese, grated (shredded)
- 1 soured cream, to serve
- 3.5 fl oz vegetable oil
- 6 to 8 garlic cloves, sliced
- 6 mild red chillies, deseeded and sliced
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 2 to 3 red (bell) peppers, chopped
- 28.2 oz black beans
- 3.5 oz brown lentils
- 6 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 tsp ground coriander (cilantro)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh, hard/woody herbs (e.g. thyme, rosemary or sage)
- 1.8 pints vegetable stock
- 1.8 oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1.8 oz butter, cubed
- 8 large flour tortillas
- 1 big block of mature Cheddar cheese, grated (shredded)
- 1 soured cream, to serve
- 0.4 cup vegetable oil
- 6 to 8 garlic cloves, sliced
- 6 mild red chillies, deseeded and sliced
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 2 to 3 red (bell) peppers, chopped
- 28.2 oz black beans
- 3.5 oz brown lentils
- 6 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 tsp cilantro
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh, hard/woody herbs (e.g. thyme, rosemary or sage)
- 4.2 cups vegetable stock
- 1.8 oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1.8 oz butter, cubed
- 8 large flour tortillas
- 1 big block of mature Cheddar cheese, grated (shredded)
- 1 soured cream, to serve
- 1 pineapple, cut into steaks
- 12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 limes, zest and juice only
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1 handful coriander (cilantro), chopped, stalks and all
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 pineapple, cut into steaks
- 12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 limes, zest and juice only
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1 handful coriander (cilantro), chopped, stalks and all
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 pineapple, cut into steaks
- 12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 limes, zest and juice only
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1 handful cilantro
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Details
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Recipe Type: Quesadilla
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 10 mins
- Cooking Time: 90 mins
- Serves: 8
Step-by-step
- Pour the oil into your fireproof pot. Add the garlic and chilli, then slowly heat until you start to get a gentle sizzle. Keep them gently frying for 7-10 minutes until golden but not burnt – you don’t want bitter garlic.
- When everything is golden and aromatic, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on kitchen paper.
- Add the onions and peppers to the hot oil and fry until lightly brown and soft. Now, add all the other ingredients – except the chocolate and butter – but including the fried garlic and chillies.
- Bring to the boil over the direct heat and then keep the chilli bubbling away on a low-medium heat. The longer the better: 90 minutes will send this chilli to the upper stratosphere of good eating. Stir occasionally and scrape the bottom to make sure nothing is catching.
- Have water at the ready if the chilli gets too thick, slowly adding a bit here and there – this also helps to make sure that it doesn’t catch. The starch from the beans will get thicker as time goes on, so be careful.
- Once the chilli is dark and shiny, add the chocolate and butter, and stir them in until it’s rich and beautiful. And that’s it, BAM!
- Now to assemble. Place your frying pan on the heat and, once hot, lay a tortilla flat in the pan. Spread a good spoonful of the chilli on top of the tortilla (leave an inch of space round the edge as the filling will spread when you slice them), then make it rain cheese. Top with another tortilla, then carefully flip the whole thing.
- Once the cheese is melted and the tortillas are toasty, slide the quesadilla out of the pan onto a board and slice.
- Repeat with the remaining tortillas then serve up with the pineapple salsa and soured cream and let everyone dive in.
To make the pineapple salsa:
- You need a high heat, so whack up that grill.
- Grill the pineapple steaks until you have a nice char. Set them aside to cool, then dice.
- Chuck the chopped pineapple into a bowl with all the other salsa ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and mix well. Set aside until you’re ready to serve.
Extracted from Fire Feasts: The Awesome BBQ Book for Feasting with Friends & Family by DJ BBQ & Chris Taylor (Quadrille, £16.99). Photography David Loftus.
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